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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26718898">A Nightmare on Maple Street</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_who_the_river_could_not_hold/pseuds/she_who_the_river_could_not_hold'>she_who_the_river_could_not_hold</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Spooky Things (And Other Stranger Stories from Hawkins) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stranger Things (TV 2016)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Horror, But like... Horror Lite, Canon Deaths Only, Depictions of Death (Canon-Level), El has powers in the vaguest sense, F/M, Gen, Horror as in the way Stranger Things is technically horror, Lumax is an established relationship, Mild Language, Mileven is at the crush stage, Nightmare on Elm Street AU, not quite modern but not quite 80s, which is coincidentally why this is rated T</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:00:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,855</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26718898</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_who_the_river_could_not_hold/pseuds/she_who_the_river_could_not_hold</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Autumn is supposed to be a time of counting down to Halloween, enjoying the change in season, picking pumpkins. And it starts out how it should –– until everything changes one night.</p>
<p>El Hopper’s senior year of high school, and the small town of Hawkins, is completely derailed by the disappearance of Barb Holland. Foul play is suspected and as if that’s not enough, El begins to be plagued by nightmares. And each night, they feel more and more real. She begins to suspect that there’s more to them than just being dreams, but it’s a race against the clock as more people disappear and bodies are discovered. She can only hope to figure it out before it’s too late… or she becomes the next victim.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Spooky Things (And Other Stranger Stories from Hawkins) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1095540</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. part i</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I watched the original <i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i> this year because it's taken me way too long, and afterwards I was instantly hit by the need to write an AU of it! Hence my unexpected return to writing Stranger Things fics lol. I was planning on posting this on October 1st but since I'll be heading to the mountains now, I figured it would be an early Halloween treat!</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p><b>A general content heads up:</b> while this is obviously based on a horror film (especially one with fantastic blood special effects), this fic doesn't reach those levels. Beyond only having canon deaths, I've also pulled my descriptions of really just one scene straight from a screenshot from the show (so they're there, but not overtly graphic in my opinion). That's ultimately why I decided to stick with a Teen rating, matching the actual one of Stranger Things! I wanted to focus more on the conceptual aspects of the movie versus literal plot points. If you do have any questions about it or want anything more specific, please don't hesitate to reach out to me on <a href="https://she-who-the-river-could-not-hold.tumblr.com/">my Tumblr!</a></p>
</blockquote>You can find the <a href="https://she-who-the-river-could-not-hold.tumblr.com/post/630439495656964097/a-nightmare-on-maple-street-a-stranger-things-x">moodboard</a> I created for it on my Tumblr as well. The second part is about halfway written and the plan is to have the final part up by Halloween! Beyond that, I hope you enjoy this fic and thanks for checking it out!
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>
    <em>part i </em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was with a strangled cry that El Hopper woke up early Friday morning, her heart feeling like it was going to burst out of her chest and her quilt tangled up amongst her legs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blinking rapidly, her fingers frantically straightened the neckline of her t-shirt from where it had twisted tighter on her neck during the night as she looked around her bedroom, the sensation of being choked easing alongside her initial anxiety upon waking up. She rarely remembered her dreams, but this one remained on the outskirts of her mind as she collected herself. Hazy recollections of swirling smoke and twisting vines were the only images that stuck out though before they faded away along with the rest of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a nightmare. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Looking around her room, El tried to find different things to focus on to bring herself back. Slow, steadying breaths as her eyes searched her surroundings. Her old therapist had told her that finding five things was enough to calm you down so as she gulped in oxygen she did her best to bring herself back to a calmer state.. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One: the polaroid photos from this summer’s past fair hanging from a string above her desk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Two: the giant teddy bear that was haphazardly sitting in the corner, his left eye loose from how often she’d dragged him around her first year in the house. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes flicked from the stuffed animal to the other side of her room, her breath already relaxing as she took in a third and fourth item. By the time she got to the fifth one, a stack of unread books nearly the height of her bed, her eyelids were already beginning to droop shut again and all that remained of the nightmare was the sweat cooling on the back of her neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXX </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s so ridiculous how much of an asshole Billy is. I still can’t believe Neil is letting him still live at home, I would have bet money that he would have kicked him out the second he finished high school. He would have deserved it too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max Mayfield’s voice cut through El’s thoughts as the two of them walked up towards Hawkins High. El would have felt bad for being a bit distracted but she knew her best friend didn’t care; half of her rants were more about her just venting to get it out and less about needing advice on anything. And hell, it would have been impossible to give her any at this point. Max had been putting up with Billy nearly her whole life. She only had one more year of high school until she could leave him in the dust as she went on to college. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>El was barely able to stop the second yawn that tried to escape her. When her alarm clock had eventually woken her up for good this morning, she could only vaguely remember waking up in the middle of the night. So when Hop had asked her how she slept while he was working on breakfast, she’d just shrugged and said she was fine. It wasn’t a lie –– outside of the random nightmare it had been an otherwise normal night of sleep for her. She just couldn’t figure out why she was more tired than normal. Even the crisp October air wasn’t enough to wake her up, the morning air prickling against her cheeks as the two girls walked down the sidewalk. The sound of fellow students running past them, laughing and shouting, was merely a blur in the background as she tried to refocus on what Max was saying. Her friend’s hair was shining a bright copper in the sunlight and it gave her enough to pay attention to as Max continued on about Billy wasting hot water in the shower. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Stepping into the large main hallway of the school, El prayed that the energy from everyone else around them would be enough to help keep her awake throughout the day. She still felt like she had to work harder than everyone else to keep her grades up, a feeling that she kept bottled up inside her rather than confess it to anyone. Those early years of not having traditional schooling… well she preferred not to think about them and instead be thankful that she still had time to catch up. It just sucked and with midterms coming up, she was determined that she’d finish senior year strong.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two girls went to Max’s locker first, their conversation having moved onto more benign topics such as homework and if either of them had started their essay for history yet (El had, Max hadn’t). But any further conversation was cut off by the arrival of Max’s boyfriend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a hollar, Lucas Sinclair swooped in and tackled Max from behind. She shrieked with laughter and the two dissolved into a tickle fight with each other from there. El cleared her throat and leaned against the lockers. This was pretty much business as usual. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Lucas and Max had started dating in sophomore year, El had been reluctant to like him. And not because of anything he’d actually done. She’d selfishly wanted her only friend to just stay her friend since she didn’t have anyone else. But it turned out that Max was capable of balancing the relationships in her life and that Lucas actually really fucking cool. So that helped a lot and now El considered him a close friend too, thankful to have someone else coolheaded around to balance Max out. But he was also a package deal with his three other best friends, which meant… </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! Watch the cooties!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of Lucas’ friends walked up to join them. Lucas and Max dating meant that Dustin, Mike, and Will were also now a part of the group. Or “party” as Dustin was one to call them. He was the goofiest of all of them, though he was also totally cool chilling in the library with her during study hall and showing her really cool facts about whatever it was he was fixating on that week. Will was as quiet as she was and wanted to be an artist and she liked how he was always able to help center the group’s focus back to whatever was at hand. And Mike…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well she’d had a crush on Mike since she first saw him sophomore year and now they were seniors and she still hadn’t done anything about it. Maybe at one point she would have been able to convince herself that it would fade and she’d like someone else, but no one else at their high school compared. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t help it. She found his gangliness awkwardness endearing and his messy black curls had grown out in a more manageable length. She’d often wondered if they were as silky as they looked, but luckily her shorter stature made it impossible to do anything like that subtlety. Her stomach erupted into butterflies everytime he was near, which felt silly since it had been almost two years since they’d met and they were technically friends. But they didn’t hang out away from the party and she did everything she could to bury the crush deep inside her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut it Dustin,” Lucas replied nonchalantly, letting go of Max all the same as he leaned up against the lockers. “You’d be worse if you ever got a girlfriend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Suzie is real, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll believe it when I see it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See it?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>An incredulous snort</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “Lucas, you heard her on the phone!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You could have paid some girl off for all we know,” Will quipped quietly and the group laughed. Dustin rolled his eyes, shifting his backpack higher up onto his shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever! I’ll figure out a time for her to visit and you’ll all be sorry,” he responded cheerfully. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max took the time to let out a deep sigh. “If only Halloween was actually treated as a real holiday in this country. Imagine if we had a long weekend for it, the day off. Suzie could come then and we could test her through a marathon of scary movies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or the haunted corn maze,” both Mike and El said at the same time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tried to not blush when he grinned at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His freckles were still standing out from the summer, the transition to fall not having happened fast enough for them to have already faded as they all spent more time indoors. She was thankful for that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all bantered a little while longer, the conversation jumping from topic to topic as it usually did with them. They were in the middle of catching the girls up on their latest D&amp;D campaign when the bell rang though, bringing their attention back to the reality of high school. Dustin’s groan at it was a sentiment that they all shared. So they all waved each other off as they had to scatter in different directions for class, El making her way towards the main stairs with Will so they could head up to their math class they had together. She was thankful he was in it with her since it wasn’t really a strong subject for either of them. But it didn’t stop her usual glance back behind them to get one last look at Mike as he started to head towards his chemistry class. She quickly looked back at Will though as he asked her about the homework, telling herself that she’d imagined Mike’s eyes seeking her out too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In all regards, it was a normal day. Classes were the same as always, El’s usual spot of sitting in the middle back keeping her from the sweeping gazes and questions from the teachers. Passing notes with Max in social studies and then trying to not stare at Mike for too long at lunch while they all complained about the upcoming mile run in gym class next week. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everything was perfectly normal with her friends, with trying to hide her crush, and the impending countdown to Halloween. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Which was why she would have never been able to foresee how the afternoon would start while she was in her English class right after lunch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The classroom had been completely silent, save for the sound of scratching pencils as they wrote, for about twenty minutes before the door slowly creaked open. El didn’t immediately look up, waiting until she’d finished the sentence she was working on before letting her eyes glance upwards. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was the school counselor, an anxious woman who went through more chewing gum than El could even count. One time her dad had said it was because she was trying to quit smoking, but El was pretty sure she’d been doing it all four years so she couldn’t tell if that meant it had worked or not. But most of the time people only saw her in the front office and it was weird to see her in a classroom. Ms. Delaney’s own anxiousness was radiating off of her in waves and as she frantically whispered to Mr. Wallace, more and more students began to look up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He cleared his throat once Ms. Delaney nodded and took a step back to signify that she was done. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Class, we’re going to be releasing you all early today. Please make arrangements to be picked up if needed, the buses will be available for normal routes,” he announced.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While this would normally be considered an exciting turn of events, the strangeness of it all wasn’t lost on the group of seniors and they remained in their seats, confusion clouding the situation. When it was clear that no one was really reacting to it, he looked at their counselor helplessly for assistance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unfortunately, Barbara Holland—an alumnus from here and student at Hawkins Community College—has gone missing. The sheriff’s office has reason to believe that she was killed.” She finished her sentence with an extra loud, nervous smack of the gum in her mouth. “The town is going to do a curfew for the weekend and we’re sending you all home early.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At that, the class fell into a flurry as they began to gather up their things. El’s hands shook as she compiled her papers. It was a small town, everyone pretty much knew everyone, and she was fairly certain Barb had been friends with Mike’s older sister if her memory served her correctly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She doesn’t even go to high school anymore, this is stupid,” grumbled one kid behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s because she’s local and a girl,” snapped a girl in response. “They want to make sure we’re all safe in case it’s like some axe-murderer or whatever.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Goosebumps ran down El’s arms as she stumbled out into the hallway with everyone else. Chatter filled the air, seemingly mixed with real fear and confusion, as well as some levity at the idea of being able to go home early on a Friday. It was impossible to tell with teenagers where to fall emotionally.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’d read about crime rates going up lately. Murder too, but that was always in big cities. Shit like this didn’t happen in Hawkins though, no way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But the fear on the teachers’ faces was palpable enough that she couldn’t fight away the gut feeling that it was all true. That Barb wasn’t just going to show up at home tonight and it would all be a big misunderstanding. Even as Max and eventually Lucas joined up with her in the hall, following the streaming crowd back out into the sun, El couldn’t shake it. There was something telling her, without a doubt, that something horrible had occurred.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they’d made it out of the school, El’s dad was waiting for them outside. He’d clearly know they’d be let out of school early, doubling  After a quick kiss goodbye to Lucas, Max followed El into the backseat after a confirmation from him for her to join them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two girls were silent for the first part of the drive. Jim Hopper was larger than life, his large frame a memory of his time as Hawkins High School’s star quarterback. His usual gruff demeanor was saved for everyone else and rarely for her or her friends. He’d adopted El when she was six years old and he was all she knew, so every difference in him right now was glaringly obvious. He was hunched over the steering wheel, his brows knitted together in a glare as he checked for cars behind them before he pulled out. There wasn’t any music playing from the radio in stark contrast to the usual rock music he played. The tension was clear in his shoulders.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Max, I called your parents. Since I have to work around the clock this weekend, I’m going to have you sleepover with El.” His eyes met theirs in the rearview mirror. “Obviously if that’s okay with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They nodded quickly, both grinning at the idea of a week long sleepover but also feeling the seeds of nervousness take deeper root. For Max’s stepdad to seemingly agree so seemingly easily to this was unusual. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This really was serious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t elaborate for the rest of the drive, though he did eventually turn the music back on. It was a small sense of normalcy but it wasn’t enough to shake the fear building up in El.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even Max, usually talkative enough for everyone she was around, was quiet on the car ride back to the Hopper residence. El leaned her head against the weekend, only half-watching the blur of orange and yellow leafed trees as they zipped past them. The sky was already beginning to gray and the normal excitement of fall seemed to have been sucked out of everything. Even the brightness from this morning was gone and she couldn’t shake the feeling that Hawkins was going to be changed forever this weekend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXX </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something tickled at the back of El’s mind, trying to figure out why everything looked so strange around her. The sky looked like it sometimes did before tornados, or at least that’s what she’d seen on TV. But this was different from that too. Rolling clouds, tumultuous and aggressive as they moved across the horizon. A deep inky blue bled into almost a sickly green color at the edges, lightning dotting the distance. Everything around her had a deep blue cast to it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She squinted in an effort to see past the floating particles around her. Where the hell was she?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello?” She called out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no one around and she was answered by a buzzing in her ears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The static noise followed her as she tentatively began to walk forward. Her mind was clearing the further she walked. She recognized where she was now. Up ahead was Benny’s diner which meant she was on Maple Ave. and just a block or two further and one over was the police station. Her feet felt like they were moving automatically but it made sense, she must be on her way to see Hop at the station. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Up ahead, it looked like the clouds were extending. Maybe there was going to be a tornado. It was probably why there was no one outside right now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She kept moving forward. The hairs on her arm were upright but she was pretty sure Max had told her sometimes electricity in the air could cause that, which would make sense with this storm they were experiencing. It didn’t always mean you were afraid. And she didn’t have a reason to be afraid, she was just walking to go meet Hop. Maybe she could convince him to go to Benny’s for dinner, she hadn’t had waffles in ages. Even he did want to reduce his sugar intake after a recent trip to the doctor’s office.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But instead of continuing one block further, El found herself drifting to the right. She turned down a different street, Sycamore Road. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something was pulling her that way, something she couldn’t explain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no rush to find Hop anyway right? He was awful busy right now trying to solve the missing person case. She’d let him get a bit more work done.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Losing track of the blocks she walked, El found herself deeper into the residential neighborhood she’d wandered into. She was pretty sure Dustin lived somewhere around here. One time they’d all met up at his place before…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ah yes, there it was. The neighborhood pool.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This past summer they’d hung out there all day after meeting up at Dustin’s house so his mom could load them up on snacks and extra pool gear. They’d waddled more than walked over to the pool, overloaded with supplies. It had been worth it though and it was one of El’s favorite summer memories, even if they’d spent half the afternoon dodging Billy during his shift as a lifeguard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t know why she was so curious to be here now though. The pool had been closed since the start of school and even if it was open, it seemed dangerous to go swimming in this weather. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Regardless, she found herself on auto-pilot as she moved closer. The chain link fence was unlocked and she pushed against the gate to swing it open.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pool area was strange looking when it was empty. There weren’t any chairs scattered around the cement, now stacked away in the small building to her left. The food counter window was shuttered shut and an off-white vinyl covering sealed the now empty pool. Shallow puddles from past rainy days dotted the top, lined by fallen leaves and dirt clinging to it. The lifeguard chair towered above, dingier than she remembered and isolated without its umbrella to cover it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her focus shifted quickly from looking around to back to the pool though. Her gut kept drawing her closer to it. One step at a time, El moved towards the pool. Not the shallow end which was beside her when she walked in, but alongside the edge of it back towards the diving board. The storm around her seemed to be raging but there was no rain. Only spiraling clouds that looked like arms reaching around the horizon to encase it in its grasp. The floating particles danced around her and she tried to remember if the pool area had always been this overgrown or if this was just what happened during the off season. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A step closer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another one, her converse almost glowing against the muddy cement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she reached the diving board, El slowly knelt to the ground. Hopefully Hop wasn’t wondering where she was, she hadn’t meant to make this detour. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her fingers inched forward towards the end of the vinyl. She needed to see what was underneath it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As cautious as her movement felt, when it came to pulling up the edge of the covering, El did with it with a strength she didn’t know she had. With a loud rip from the edges, it pulled back and exposed the empty gut of the swimming pool. Hollow and empty, save for the few twigs and leaves and grime that managed to stay behind even after being drained. From the front of the pool to the back, the density of the vines grew thicker and thicker until it reached her. Her eyes traced the interwoven lines from the top to the bottom, finally looking straight down below her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Into the unseeing eyes of Barbara Holland.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was bloated in death, her eyes partially swollen over as she looked up at El. Mottled bruising circled her eyes and it wasn’t just the off-colored sky that was making her skin look green. Things that almost looked like cobwebs of slime decorated her sides, connecting her face and neck to the bottom of the pool. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That alone was nausea-inducing… and that was before El took in the slug-like creature coming out of the dead girl’s mouth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>El wretched, jerking back up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While everything around her felt wrong, off-kilter from the real world, something about Barb’s body was horribly real. El’s stomach rolled as she fought to look away. But she couldn’t her eyes glued to the sight below her. It hardly looked like the work of a human. She couldn’t think of any way that a human could have achieved that type of kill. The vines that move across the bottom of the pool had intertwined with the body in a way that made it feel like they’d conjoined at the same time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was only when she heard a crash nearby that El was able to yank her head up, away from Barb’s decaying gaze. She couldn’t see anything near her but that didn’t stop the dread that was pooling in her stomach. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wasn’t alone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That thought alone spurred her into action. Whatever had been holding her in place, unable to look away from Barb, was gone. Now adrenaline coursed through her and she was able to take off into a sprint. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t tell if it was the wind or if it was breathing she was feeling on her neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tried to run faster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt like Hawkins, which had been almost normal earlier, was now being choked by vines and decay and spiraling clouds. The cloud that now felt like they were reaching out towards her, finger-like smoke that snaked its way through the air to get to her. Reaching out further and further. Her lungs burned as she pushed herself forward. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d pushed herself so hard to run. Maybe it was those long hallways as a child, the day when she managed to escape from… no, she couldn’t think of that right now. She had to get out of here, she had to get home. She’d be safe at home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually her house began to rise up in front of her at the end of the street. Reality was warping. Was that really where it was? Had she run that far already?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then she heard something behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A bellow or a screech.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was almost like the world around her was glitching and her ears couldn’t be trusted to really discern what she had just heard. The sound startled her enough though that she stuttered to a stop, her feet catching on the cement.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her lungs were burning from the exertion so she waited for a minute to catch her breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She knew it wasn’t wind behind her now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was decidedly breathing. She’d been stalked since the pool and she could feel the dread that had pooled in her gut spreading throughout the rest of her as every nerve in her caught on fire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a stalemate between her and whatever it was behind her. She knew she should just keep going but the same morbid curiosity from the pool was coming back. Even with Barb’s face burned into her mind, she couldn’t help herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She slowly turned on her heel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever it was, it wasn’t human. She wasn’t even sure if it was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>animal</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But it was also a horrible combination of all of those things put together in some type of horrifying conglomeration of a creature. Sinewy muscles roped together in a hulking, crouched figure. Fingers that arched and stabbed the road beneath them that were as long as her forearm –– not that she wanted to get close enough to find out. But more terrifying than its almost contorted body was its face. Or where she imagined a face was supposed to be except instead of anything recognizable, there was a gaping hole surrounded by rows and rows of teeth that split out in a petal-like formation of skin haloed around the hole.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The earlier nausea from seeing Barb returned as the two of them stared each other down. This was an abomination and she didn’t know how her dreamself could have conjured such a thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slime or saliva hung from tooth to tooth and there was a sheen to its skin that made it a confusing blend of skin and scales, reptilian but not. And even though she couldn’t see anything that seemed like a pair of eyes on it, she couldn’t shake that it was staring directly at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then it let out a deep, guttural growl as its hind legs pushed back as if to power up to launch at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was all she needed to feel her feet unfreeze from the ground and she spun back around. Her house was rapidly appearing closer as she ran but it didn’t stop her from hearing the sound of the creature bounding up behind her. It was easily twice the size of her; it was only a matter of time before it could reach her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As her hand reached forward and clasped the cold handle of her front door, she felt its claws reaching out and grasping at her. The sound of her shirt tearing was the last thing she remembered as she stumbled through the door and into pitch blackness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>XXX</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>El woke up with a scream, Max leaning over her and shaking her awake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jesus, El! What the hell were you dreaming about?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Blinking rapidly, El took in the surroundings around her. She was safe in her room. Max must have turned on the light by her bed, the warm light filling the room softly. On El’s stomach was the comic book she must have fallen asleep in the middle of reading. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she realized Max was still watching her with concern, El mumbled something about not remembering it. Her best friend’s eyes narrowed slightly, as if reading right through her, but eventually nodded all of the same. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once Max had climbed back down to the air mattress beside her bed, El slowly sat up. Everything had felt so real. Every inch of Hawkins had been correct, not a single thing swapped out for a dream version of itself. Even if it had felt all wrong in color and feeling. Something about it had been almost too real. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She repeated the steps she’d done last night when she’d woken up from that dream. Counting the five items around her room, she did her best to quell her rapid heartbeat. It was a slower process than before but she wrote it off because last time she hadn’t been able to remember the nightmare and this time it was visibly branded in her memory. Her therapist had told her this could happen, especially with an imagination like hers. She imagined that she’d be told that somehow it was her brain concocting a story about Barb that was bigger than just some creep or something kidnapping her. She loved reading fiction and Max loved horror stories, it was bound to happen that her mind would run away with it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Letting out a long sigh, El resituated herself under her covers. The sweat on her forehead was cooling and the dream was beginning to recede in her mind and taken over by tiredness. She couldn’t entirely shake it, but the physical exhaustion she felt was able to overcome it. As she reached to pull the blankets up more, her hand brushed against her side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>El tried to swallow the gasp that fell out of her, desperate to not wake Max up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The place on her shirt that she’d felt get snagged by whatever it was that had chased her in her dream actually had holes in it. Static transferred from the frayed fabric to her skin as she slowly traced them with her fingers. It wasn’t her imagination –– the holes were really there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She could feel herself shaking as she resumed trying to herself to lay down. Shuddering as she reminded herself that she was home in her bed. Max was on the floor and her dad would be home soon after he helped patrol the area which was all to protect her and the people who lived here.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So much for getting any more sleep though.</span>
  </em>
  <span> El waited for her own labored breathing to relax and while at one point it did, she’d already memorized every crack and speck in the ceiling above her. Her palms were clammy and she couldn’t release her iron grip on her blanket. She’d already tuned out Max’s soft snuffling in her sleep and was lost in the buzzing in her ears that hadn’t left since she’d felt the tears in her shirt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no way she could imagine going to sleep after this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not when all she could see was Barb’s face and the creature that had nearly gotten her and she couldn’t shake that part of this felt very real.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. part ii</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As usual for me, I totally stretched myself too thin in October which put this chapter a lot later than it was supposed to be! My goal will still be to try and get the final chapter out by Halloween, but I still have a lot going on this week leading up to my favorite holiday haha so I might be a bit late with that as well. But I'm super happy to get this chapter up and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>
    <em>part ii</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>It was difficult to ignore the dreams.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes –– plural as in now that she’d dreamt about it once, it was all her mind could see.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a restless Friday night, El managed to get through Saturday without revealing how tired she was to Max and eventually Hopper when he swung by with Chinese take out for them. He was only taking a brief time off before he returned to the search with the rest of the police department. It was almost scary to ask him about any progress, but Max asked him cautiously for an update and he merely grunted that they’d found her car but otherwise no clues. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>El’s tongue had twisted up at the idea of suggesting what she had seen in her dream. That maybe Barb’s body wasn’t as far away as they were assuming, that they didn’t have to keep checking bus stops and train stations. Maybe they had to just look in the neighborhood swimming pool.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But as rattled as she is by it, she also knows that no one would take her seriously. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh yes Dad, please go inspect the pool to see if some type of monster left there to rot. How do I know? I saw it in a dream of course!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The very idea was ludicrous but it still made her insides turn while she thought about it. And it didn’t help that Saturday night, full from too much Chinese food and exhausted from staying up with Max to watch all of the TV shows Hop would have prevented them from watching if he was there, El fell back into a fitful sleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the nightmare came back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The same warped sense of reality, Hawkins but everything feeling just off. Like it was upside down. When she tried to barrel back into her house for safekeeping, it didn’t work. So El walked the same path as she had before, feeling the tug in her stomach towards the pool. It was a morbid sense of checking in on the dead body of the young woman whose face was everywhere now on the TV when El was awake. Now when she was asleep, she saw a different face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then would begin again the same race. Breathing down her neck, decay enveloping her as she raced home. The creature was always behind her just enough that it couldn’t quite reach her. She didn’t have to worry about Hopper noticing the tears in her shirts. He was so distracted by everything she’d volunteered to help with laundry before even realizing it would be a way to hide the damage. It wasn’t something she was going to be able to explain and she was worried about what he would say. Or even more so, worried that she would add more stress onto his plate if he thought she was having such violent nightmares. He’d probably even blame himself for the images she was seeing, claiming he shouldn’t talk about his job so much at home anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So on Sunday, Max having biked home after lunch, El determinedly did the laundry and even folded up the clothes. Anything to hide the tears in her shirt. She’d been lucky Saturday night and escaped before the creature could lash out, but she wasn’t so sure about the upcoming night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her assumption had been correct and she’d woken up with a scream Monday morning, bringing Hopper racing to her room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d only been somewhat able to convince him that she was fine, that it had all just been a bad dream. And that was the thing: it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> just a dream. But it always felt too real and this time El had woken up with what felt like grit and grime underneath her fingernails from when she’d leaned over the edge of the pool.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hop had cautiously stared at her, his eyes taking in the dark circles that were beginning to form underneath her eyes. But she’d been resolute and with a gentle pat to her hand (clutching at her blanket to hide her fingers), he’d stood back up to finish making them breakfast. He’d gotten in late last evening and as happy as El had been to have him back at home, she knew the stress was only going to keep building for him the longer they couldn’t find Barb. Which also meant her guilt was beginning to grow as she worried about her struggle to sleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The start of the week came with a sense of unease for everyone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the town of Hawkins, it was because there hadn’t been any real progress made with finding Barb. The official status was that she’d gone missing Wednesday night, not officially reported until Thursday midday. The sighting of her car Friday morning had sparked some hope initially, but then the traces of blood that had been found were what had sent the local government into a frenzy that the killer was nearby and would strike again, resulting in the curfew and the school day being let out early. But that had been it. No other signs of foul play, no other clues.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So while El wished she could bring herself to say something, she knew they’d say it was all in her head. And she didn’t want to distract from the case at hand when it was already looking so dire. She didn’t need them to chase after her nightmares and lose potential progress.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without a lead or anything else happening over the weekend, school was going to return back to normal. Despite Max’s griping about it, El was secretly thankful. Anything to distract her from her racing thoughts and the nightmares that kept plaguing her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just saying, wouldn’t it kick ass if we just got to stay home until they caught him?” Her best friend said with a groan. They were all sitting together at lunch, conversing about the strangeness of being back at school almost as if nothing had ever happened. Maybe that was just how bad news was handled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you so sure the killer is a guy?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dustin was lucky his tone was genuinely curious because otherwise Max would have definitely reached across and punched him in the arm. Instead she just rolled her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s pretty much always a guy. Anyway, it sets up like all of the unsolved mysteries I’ve read and once they’re solved, it’s usually some dude who hates women because of his relationship with his mom and takes it out on random girls.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mike whistled slowly and shook his head. “That’s really fucked up. I hope they find her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all nodded in sync.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Either way, I’m hoping it’s soon,” Will added on after a moment. “I feel like ever since it happened I’ve been having so many nightmares. I don’t even watch scary movies so my brain’s really not enjoying this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>El’s attention snapped to the quieter boy at his mention of bad dreams. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before she could ask him for more details though, she felt a soft nudge on her arm and turned to see Mike looking at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your dad’s gotta be pretty busy during this right?” He asked quietly. Around them, the others had continued on into a different conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>El tried to not flush at the sudden focus he’d shifted to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah he’s been really preoccupied with all of this.” She tucked a stray curl behind her ear. “I’ve been trying to not bother him too much, I can tell how stressed he is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mike’s expression was sympathetic. “I bet. My sister came home from college, Barb’s one of her best friends. She went in to answer some questions yesterday to hopefully help them.” He let out a long breath. “Don’t know if it did, they haven’t seen each other since the summer. If she’s upset, I imagine it’s worse for people actually working on the case.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The new information surprised El but then she noted the sadness on the edges of his eyes, the tiredness at how he spoke. While he wasn’t necessarily directly impacted, he was still watching someone in his life be affected by it. Without thinking, El extended her hand to gently place on top of his. She squeezed it and offered him the best small smile that she could muster in her tiredness. He didn’t seem to need anything more than that though, returning both her smile and the squeeze. And she knew she didn’t imagine the brief way his thumb circled her knuckles affectionately before relaxing into her grip. If anyone in their group noticed, they didn’t say anything and El let herself bask in the moment of private happiness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>XXX</span>
</p><p>
  <span>El’s charade was clearly weakening when Max asked El how she was holding up on Tuesday. The concern was obvious on her face, interrupting her own conversation about getting a new skateboard when she caught El’s millionth yawn. She knew her dark circles were only deepening after another restless night of sleep and Max was too good at picking up cues.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She insisted she was fine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wednesday morning she woke up, clutching her bed and tears coursing down and soaking the pillow fabric beneath her. This time in her sleep, she’d been in an empty building instead of Hawkins. Something had felt familiar about it, but she couldn’t tell if it was her dream body that seemed to know where to go or if something deep within her knew these halls. The decay from the town was here too though, as well as large scratches and gouges in the walls and floors. This time when she’d been chased, it had felt like a maze that was closing in on her. Closed door after door, her fists pounding against the wood as she screamed for help. Wishing she could break into the rooms with what looked like medical or scientific tools she could use to defend herself. She’d barely made it into the elevator, her wrist aching from her sliding into the door in her rush.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While she stared at the flashing numbers on her alarm clock telling her it was three in the morning, El tried to forget how she’d felt like she was being watched that time –– and not by the creature. The bruise on her wrist was luckily small enough to hide with a few bracelets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thursday morning she nearly had fallen into Lucas, convinced she’d seen the monster in the edge of her vision in the hallway. She played it off as thinking she’d seen a spider on herself, but she felt guilty as everyone looked at her with concern. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d never been a good liar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>El had maybe managed to get a couple hours of sleep Thursday night going into Friday. She was getting better at finding ways to stay awake after doing this for a week, occupying her mind. There had been an extra flashlight in the attic and she used to read late into the night, filling her mind with romance and other fictional stories to keep herself from drifting off and seeing death and decay. Her journal was filling up faster as well, using the time to try and write down everything she’d seen in her nightmares or just to ramble with her thoughts. Anything to stay awake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it wasn’t just the lack of sleep that was making her feel off that morning, she just couldn’t place what it was. Something felt wrong and it wasn’t just the exhaustion she was feeling deep in her bones.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That answer came in the first period of class.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unlike last time, Ms. Delaney didn’t come in and speak to their teacher. Instead, the voice of their principal boomed through the speakers in all of the classrooms, requesting for everyone to make their way to the gym for an announcement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chills ran down El’s spine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cold feeling didn’t leave her either once she was seated on the bleachers, crammed in next to Max and Mike, with Lucas and Dustin on the other side of Max. The four of them looked around for Will to join them, but he’d been late that morning too. They’d all shrugged it off; ever since his older brother had gone to college, Will’s arrival schedule in the mornings had been pretty random depending on his mom’s hours at work. Eventually, with no sign of him in sight coming from his class and the spaces beside them filling up, they refocused their energy back on their principal at the front.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Vaughn cleared his throat in an attempt to get everyone to settle down, which they did for the most part. As much as students enjoyed being out of class, there was something odd about this sudden assembly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adjusting his glasses once he had their attention, Mr. Vaughn leaned forward towards the mic in front of him and began to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Students, it has been confirmed that there is another missing persons case. One of our own, William Byers, went missing yesterday after school. If you have any information regarding his whereabouts or information that might be relevant to the case, please make sure to speak to the police.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t her imagination that heads swiveled to look at the party. Teenagers didn’t care about being obvious so El felt a burning flush creep up her neck as curious eyes strained to stare the group down. It was a small town and even smaller high school. Almost everyone had grown up with each other and everyone knew who Will hung out with. Lucas looked ashen while Dustin’s jaw had gone slack, wildly looking between the group of them. Mike gulped, rubbing his hands on his jeans as the anxious jiggling of his leg increased in speed. Even Max was stunned silent, a feat rarely seen from her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And El felt a chill go down her spine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She watched numbly as her dad stepped in from the side of Mr. Vaughn –– how had she missed him before? –– and announced the enforcement of a longer curfew, an even earlier one. People had to be inside by 9:30 PM and all shops and restaurants would be closed by 5:00. He began to woodenly read down a list of best practices, his voice almost being taken over the buzz of students around them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Barb had disappeared, there was a skepticism to the reaction. A college aged student, someone who didn’t go to the school. A gross history of sexism that led to more women being involved in cases like these making it somehow feel not as alarming as it should have. But Will was a senior at Hawkins High, young for one even. A young teenage boy. The potential was horrifying and it was alighting nerves throughout the student body. Even the principal looked ill, his expression pinched as he attempted to shush the muttering students. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But even as imaginations verbally took life around them, El had a different sinking feeling. A feeling that was connected to the dreams she’d been having that had taken her to Barb’s body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had a hunch that this wasn’t just a creep going around town. This was something bigger and more dangerous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>XXX</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After that, there was never a moment where El was left alone. Or anyone was really.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s a claustrophobia to safety. Unavoidable in nature and a blessing in its own way sometimes, but provided its own difficulties to life. Namely the paranoia that came with the realization how much danger you must be susceptible to if it warrants that much need for safety. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The parents of Hawkins seemed to have decided overnight that there was no way any child was going to be alone. Kids to teens were all seen always in groups walking places. Parents huddled in the fall winds at bus stops, no longer waiting at home for their child to make the trek from the sidewalk to the house. Not that many stores were open late here, it was a small town after all, but even they closed up earlier. The jovial attitude of neighbors disappeared as well. In exchange, nervousness and hesitation. There was a community aspect to helping make sure that no one was out alone –– organizing child pick up, keeping tabs with others about anything suspicious –– but it wasn’t friendly. It wasn’t open, people giving just mere nods instead of waving. Minimizing experiences the utmost possibility.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was all in the name of safety, El got that. But she hated it all the same. Being awake now didn’t feel like a distraction from the nightmares anymore. Even when they’d hang out at Dustin’s house after school, it was all on the edge. Unless you were next door neighbors, you didn’t hang out during the school week. So as much fun as it was (usually watching TV, doing homework together, or the boys attempting to explain Dungeons and Dragons) it was always tinged with the reality that they were doing this because something was wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now Max slept over almost every night. It was mostly so that El wouldn’t be alone while Hopper was out. Since he was on patrol most nights, only coming home in the early hours to get just enough sleep to keep running on, it made sense for El to have someone over. Max eventually confessed to her too that she was thankful to be over so she didn’t have to keep listening to Billy’s morbid takes on what was happening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt overwhelmed by it all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t help that she was still having trouble sleeping, that her dad was gone more than not as he helped with the man hunt. There were almost no clues and the now ever-present source of media attention was also adding to the tension in the town.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All of the swirling emotions and sense of paranoia just kept building up in her until one day she fell asleep at the library.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This time her dream landed her in the lab again. There is still something familiar about it, something El couldn’t put her finger on. The monster is the same as always. She sprints through the hallways, nausea building in her throat as she pushes herself forward. Each leg pumping as hard as it could to push her through the sterile lab. She wonders if she is going to run into Will’s body, as mangled and decaying as Barb’s was at the pool.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as she was within a swipe’s reach of the monster, El woke up to the jostling of her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She yelped, her eyes flying open. She would have slipped out of the chair too if it hadn’t been for the steady hand on her arm to keep her upright.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blinking in her surroundings, she took in the dimly lit school library instead of the white walls of the lab she’d dreamt of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And the concerned, pretty frightened, expression of one Mike Wheeler.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey. It’s just me. You’re at the library, you must have fallen asleep. Are you okay?” He slid into the chair next to her, his hand seemingly almost reluctant to leave her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Uh, yeah I’m fine. I’m good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mike let out a huff of laughter. “That really wasn’t that convincing, sorry.” His eyebrows knit together. “Are you sure? Do you want to talk about it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Running her hands through her hair anxiously, El felt torn between him wanting to ask for more information or for him to accept it. If she was going to start falling asleep at school, maybe it would be worth telling her friends what was going on. Mike had shifted his posture so that he was directly facing her in the chair. Her old therapist had talked about the importance of how people positioned themselves and she briefly took in the openness of how he was sitting and the earnestness of his face. He wasn’t just asking to be polite, he was genuinely concerned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And maybe it was because she was more tired than normal or everything else that had been going on, but El decided to tell him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s… not that simple,” she replied with a weak smile. This was going to be her one chance to let him shrug it off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mike simply nodded and adjusted himself into a more comfortable seated position, leaning in slightly towards her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So with his silent go-ahead, El launched into what had been going on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She talked about how at first it had just been the sensation of a bad dream, waking up unsure of why she was so tired and her heart was racing. But then the dreams had transformed into scenes so vivid it had been impossible to discern at first –– heightened by the fact that it felt like things that happened to her in the dream followed her out. The bruise on her wrist was fading but she showed it to him as she described the moment she’d gotten it, followed up by the stories of her shirts being torn and the dirt beneath her fingers. He’d hesitantly reached out to touch the bruise before withdrawing his hand as he kept listening.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Describing Barb’s body was the hardest part. She tried to not go too in-depth about what she’d seen, the state of decay of the body. But her voice shook as she choked out a brief description before launching into describing the creature that chased her in every dream. The close calls she’d had and the belief that the creature might have been involved in Barb’s death. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She waited for Mike’s expression to turn to disbelief and amusement. She knew she sounded like she’d lost her mind, especially the longer she continued to talk. But now that she’d gotten it off of her chest, she couldn’t stop. She described how she’d been trying to stay up later each night to shorten the length of her dreams, but then the toll that it was taking on her. The guilt she was feeling that maybe she should try to report it but that she didn’t know if anyone would take her seriously if she even suggested it. She’d heard stories from Max about how people laughed phony psychics out the door when they came to police with wild theories based on nothing at all. How was that any different from a dream?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Mike’s face never indicated any sort of laughter or inkling that he thought she was making this up. He was serious, not interrupting her once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she finally fell quiet, having run out of words to express everything she’d been going through, he mulled over her words before speaking up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I believe you,” was the first thing he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stared at him in shock.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, I don’t know how any of that stuff works but it definitely all lines up. And maybe you developed some sort of power that’s letting you see all of this stuff,” he continued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the angle she had been expecting him to take; she certainly didn’t feel like she had any type of power. At least nothing like the female characters in the comic books that Max lent her. But it was an interesting take on it and it cheered her up a bit at the idea that this didn’t have to be all horrible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know how that would have happened,” she eventually replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mike shrugged. “Probably wasn’t a radioactive spider or anything, unless you just haven’t tried to shoot out webs yet.” He smiled at the grin that he managed to bring out of her at his comment. “But maybe it was something that’s been dormant in you and it got triggered. You never know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To her surprise, he reached down and pulled out his own homework. She was amazed that while he seemed concerned for her, he was also relatively unbothered by her reveal and his theory that she had unlocked some type of power. At her look, he smiled again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I at least have my homework out, the librarian won’t kick me out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>El looked over at the librarian who was looking at them skeptically before looking back at Mike.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you told anyone else?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head. “I haven’t really figured out how. I don’t think I even really meant to tell you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A bashful expression flitted across Mike’s face at her comment, as if he was pleased that she’d told him. The fear from her nightmare had long eased up since he’d woken her up and this only made it go away even more, replaced by gentle fluttering in her stomach at how cute he looked right now. And how equally touched she was that he cared for her (maybe her crush wasn’t as one-sided as she’d assumed?).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their whispered conversation about the source of her nightmares eventually subsided into actual conversations about their homework. Even as they returned to the real point of study hall, El couldn’t help but steal glances at him with appreciation. Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to tell her other friends about what was going on, but for now she was glad it was Mike that knew.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At lunch the next day, Mike slipped into the seat next to her. They had a few moments before their friends showed up and El still hadn’t quite figured out when she wanted to break the news to them about all of this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nancy is going over to talk with Barb’s family tonight, they’re having dinner at six,” Mike whispered. “If you want, I bet we could convince her to let us join. Maybe they know something that might help us connect the dots to what’s going on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>El’s face lit up. “Do you really think so?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded excitedly. She still wasn’t sure that what she was experiencing was a superpower, but she appreciated that he was helping her attempt to see it in a new light with his positivity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Totally. I’ll just ask her after school and then we can come pick you up on our way over. I mean, we probably can’t search her room or anything but maybe we can just figure out the right questions to ask her parents.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their conversation was halted by the arrival of the rest of their friends. Immediately Lucas launched into a rant about gym class, echoed by Dustin, but El’s mind was spinning with the possibilities of what they could learn. She had to believe that they’d figure something out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ideas didn’t stop even once she got home and asked Hopper if she could go. He’d said yes, skeptically, but said yes all the same. So she’d called Mike’s house and told him that she could and he confirmed that Nancy had said it was fine if she joined and double checked her address with the one his mom had written down. The whole time, Hopper watched her carefully though he didn’t comment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least he didn’t comment until they’d watched just over an hour of football and then it was time for El to get ready to leave.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So it’s a date?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hopper’s eyes were somehow both skeptical and amused as he watched El lace up her Converse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not a date,” she replied emphatically, “I already told you that. Mike and I are going with Nancy to Barb’s parents house. Nancy didn’t want to be alone so Mike offered and then so did I.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay, the part about Nancy was a lie but El still hadn’t decided what she was going to do about telling Hopper about all of this. If she thought Hawkins was on edge, he was practically off a cliff at this point. The dark circles under his eyes rivaled hers and she knew that there was an unjust feeling of responsibility that was weighing on him through all of this. He didn’t have to say it for her to know. They’d always understood each other since the time he’d adopted her and taken her from the trauma-filled childhood she’d tried to forget. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So she knew that he felt like he was responsible for all of this not getting wrapped up even without him saying a single word. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you’re sure,” was all he said as he ruffled her hair. “Just make sure you’re back by nine.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She yelled goodbye to him over her shoulder as she hurried out front, hoping she wasn’t still blushing from the implication of it being a date. Hopefully the rapidly cooling evening air would make her cheeks return to a normal color.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>El had maybe only met Nancy a handful of times when the party had gone over to Mike’s to hang out over the years. She seemed more relaxed than she had been in El’s memories and she was a good conversationalist, asking El about her classes and if she had any plans for Halloween and how Hop was doing. El rarely counted herself as someone who was immediately comfortable chatting with people she didn’t know well but she was surprised at how comfortable the ride over ended up being. It probably helped that Mike seemed equally comfortable, as if this was something they always did.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their arrival at the Holland house was received with a warm welcome, Barb’s mom ushering them with big hugs for everyone, even El who she’d never even met. She tried to fight back the tears that welled up in her at the knowledge of the kindness of the family that Barb came from and how it contrasted against what she’d seen in her dream. Photos of Barb, almost like a shrine, lined the front hallway’s side table and El gingerly followed the two Wheeler siblings deeper into the house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Family dinners weren’t always an indication to personality types, so El wasn’t sure what to make of the KFC dinner that was placed out in front of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it was the trauma of the situation. Maybe they just really liked fried chicken.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all dug in, going over cursory updates about school. Nancy mainly led the discussion as she talked about her time in college so far, before Mike and El tag teamed about their last year of high school. Avoiding the elephant in the room was impossible though and the conversation turned towards Barb. El hated seeing the way her parents' faces fell, but this was also why she had come. To see if she could maybe figure out why she was seeing the young woman in her dreams and get clues to what could be going on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Holland had just finished going off about how they were considering hiring a private detective, leading everyone into an awkward silence over the apparent cost of one, when Barb’s mom let out a sniffle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think what I can’t get over,” Mrs. Holland looked down at her plate as her fork slowly pushed around the mashed potatoes, “is the guilt that I could have done something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a startling honest moment and El briefly froze at the rawness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nancy was quick to interject, her voice soft and earnest. “Marsha, there’s nothing you could have done.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The older woman patted Nancy’s outreached appreciatively before pulling it back and dabbing at her eyes with her napkin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know. But it feels like I should have done something. For about a week before she disappeared, she kept coming up to me and telling me that she thought she was going to die. She kept dreaming about it. Just constant nightmares about her own death. It was like she knew and was trying to tell me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luckily, the sudden jerk of Mike’s hand as he reached for his glass went unnoticed by everyone else as Nancy rounded the table to hug Mrs. Holland as the woman now let out a loud sob. Beside Mike though, El felt her breathing go shallow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barb had been having nightmares too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just awful things too from her descriptions,” Mr. Holland said suddenly, shaking his head as he made eye contact with her and Mike. She hoped she didn’t look like a deer in the headlines as she did her best to nod understandably. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not that our Barb wasn’t a creative girl,” he continued, “but I just don’t know how her mind came up with that stuff. Too much TV nowadays I suppose. Lord knows what those college kids were influencing her with too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>El sat woodenly and beside her, Mike stammered out a general agreement (a relatively smooth lie considering she was pretty sure the monsters in Dungeons and Dragons would make TV shows look tame). When Barb’s mother eventually collected herself again and resumed asking Nancy about her college classes, Mike subtly reached over and squeezed El’s knee. She attempted her best smile at him but eventually had to excuse herself to hide in the bathroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She didn’t know how any of this was working but she knew it wasn’t a coincidence about the nightmares. This had to be the clue she’d been hoping to learn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will had mentioned just a week or so ago that he’d been having bad dreams. Nightmares. That explained the hunch she’d had at the assembly about Will’s disappearance. That was why she had a feeling he hadn’t just been taken. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She paced up and down the tiny bathroom before collapsing down to sit on the edge of the tub. Rubbing her face anxiously, she tried to piece together the information she knew (which wasn’t a lot to be fair to herself). But there were connections, </span>
  <em>
    <span>there had to be.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dreams were inconsistent and while she didn’t know the specifics of theirs, it was impossible to assume that it was all one big coincidence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As she slowly rubbed the toe of her shoe against the linoleum tiles in front of her, El wracked her brain to come up with a plan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If she’d been able to find Barb’s body, then maybe there was a chance that she could find Will. She wasn’t sure of the physics of what she was experiencing –– if there even were any to begin with. Hopefully a person didn’t have to be dead for her to find them. That was a horrifying thought. Seeing Barb had been bad enough, but El had only known her from the posters and TV spots that begged for information from her. But Will… she wouldn’t be able to handle seeing one of her best friends dead in this dreamscape.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But if she there was even a chance that she could find Will alive, she had to take the chance. She had to stop running from the creature and actually spend time there. Seek out answers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A knock at the door startled her, followed by Nancy’s voice softly floating through asking if she was okay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>El hadn’t registered how long she’d been gone from the table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She quickly stammered out that she was okay, jumping up to flush the toilet as a fake out and then slowly washed her hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While she was drying her hands, she had another thought and El’s gaze slowly shifted to herself in the mirror, taking in her deep eye-bags and the exhaustion that had permanently painted itself on her face. A horrible realization was dawning on her.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Barb and Will had both been having nightmares, there was more to the connection. Because El was also having them too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And that meant she might be the next person to disappear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. part iii</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It turns out trying to finish a chapter the week of Halloween followed up by a week-long election process was harder than I was expecting lol! I hope you enjoy the final part of this story and thank you for all of the great comments on it!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b> <em>part iii</em> </b>
</p>
<p>When the elevator doors opened this time, El’s feet instinctively pulled her in a different direction than before. She never pressed a button on the door in her dreams. It was just wherever her mind brought her.</p>
<p>Instead of the medical-looking wing she’d been in last time, she sensed that she was moving towards the entrance of the lab. These rooms looked like offices. The doors were still locked though, she discovered as she helplessly struggled at them. Around her, the decay and rot of the dreamscape was just as choking as it was when she was outside. She hadn’t heard the creature yet, her heart thudding anxiously and her palms sweating, so she kept moving forward. </p>
<p>She was nearing a lobby –– she could see the room opening up ahead of her. Racing out alongside the walls were long gashes. Slicing through the walls as if they were putty, claw marks deep enough to see through the sides. </p>
<p>Swallowing deeply, El pushed forward.</p>
<p>The closer she got, the more she realized that there was something up ahead. She faltered. But it didn’t move and she felt her breathing return to normal; it was too small to be the creature.</p>
<p>But that momentary relief was destroyed as she got closer. Because it was a body that was strewn on the ground and she felt bile return to her. </p>
<p>To say she’d gotten used to what Barb looked like was putting it too casually. It was that she became accustomed to the horror of Barb’s death in a way that she was able to gloss over it. Especially since she’d started looking for Will, she hadn’t looked death in the face any time too recently.</p>
<p>So she was wholly unprepared for the body that she stumbled across.</p>
<p>A cry fell from her as she dropped to her knees beside it. It looked like a man, probably around Hopper’s age. Death had come for him in a different way than it had for Barb. His neck was bared open, ragged edges hinting at an animalistic attack. Her mind flashed with memories of the creature, its rows of teeth lining the large flaps of skin that circled its mouth. The man’s eyes were haunted, staring up at her in horror. There was nothing she could do to save him, even as fresh as his death felt.</p>
<p>A rumbling in the building pushed her to run back to the elevator, her vision blinded by tears as she sobbed at the image burned in her brain. And when she woke up, her pajamas had blood stains on her knees and palms where she had knelt beside him. </p>
<p>XXX </p>
<p>El had assumed the worst after her realization at the Holland house. That coming to the conclusion that she could be next would terrify her, paralyze her. </p>
<p>It turned out to do quite the opposite.</p>
<p>With a newly-found sense of clarity, El decided that she was going to figure this out. There was no guarantee that Will was dead and her own self-preservation had kicked in. Instead of running anymore, she was going to try and save them. And hopefully find a way to give closure to Barb’s parents as well. </p>
<p>The biggest thing she knew she had to do was enlist the help of her friends.</p>
<p>There was a part of her that loved having Mike already knowing. It gave them something that was just theirs and she was starting to let herself think that maybe her crush wasn’t so one-sided. But if she was going to actually try to do something about all of this, she needed a team. And her friends were just the people to do it. </p>
<p>It had been exactly one week since Will disappeared. El tried to not berate herself for coming to this conclusion sooner and instead focused on the task at hand. First, she stopped Mike in between the first and second period of the day to let him know she wanted to tell the others. He’d agreed with her immediately and the slightly goofy smile on his face when they split off made her doodle hearts on her notes the rest of the day, despite the ever-lingering fear still gripping everyone around her.</p>
<p>After that, it was easy enough to convince everyone to meet up. The whole party was interested and even their parents had a hard time saying no. El made it clear to her dad on the phone: they were all going to Benny’s straight after school ended for an early dinner and then they’d all bike home together, splitting off so that Max came over to her place and the boys over to stay with Lucas. It made El’s heart tug painfully at the relief in Hop’s voice. He’d been picking up on her exhaustion and he saw this as a chance for her to be a teen again, while also not putting herself in danger.</p>
<p>If only that was true.</p>
<p>El did her best to keep her tone light as they made their way to the diner on their bikes. She wanted to make sure everyone was seated when she dropped the information.</p>
<p>Benny’s was relatively vacant, with just a few patrons sitting around. He smiled at the party, nodding his head towards the mostly empty room with an indication that a table was theirs for the choosing. El guided everyone to the furthest back one, hoping that Mrs. Gillespie was too focused on the food in front of her to listen to them.</p>
<p>She waited until they’d placed their order and then had the plates placed in front of them before talking. The smell of the burgers and fries wafted up, tickling El’s nose and she breathed it in deeply. Dustin immediately dove in and Mike absentmindedly ate a fry at a time, looking cautiously up at her. Max nudged her with her shoulder once Benny had accepted their enthusiastic reassurance that the food looked great and he fully retreated back to the kitchens.</p>
<p>“Okay spill, El. Whatever it is, I can’t tell it’s really bothering you.”</p>
<p>Everyone looked at her expectantly and so with a deep breath, El began.</p>
<p>Just like with Mike, she started from the first part with the dreams. How they were vague in a way she hadn’t understood at first. Just simply obscured nightmares that evolved into full-fledged experiences. </p>
<p>Having described it all to Mike before, she had a better idea of how to tell it to them. It was easier to describe the sensation of knowing she was in a dream but also being aware of it. The way she practically had one foot in reality and one in the dreamscape. Watching each of her friends’ reactions as she talked about the little things that she brought back with her each time. She also didn’t miss the way Max’s eyes caught the lack of surprise in Mike’s face as he listened to her talk. El filed that for a later conversation with her. </p>
<p>Their expressions all darkened at the description of Barb and El’s voice cracked as she talked. Underneath the booth, Mike’s hand reached over squeezed hers comfortingly. It gave her a small boost and she gave him a thankful, half-smile as she continued. When she got to the man’s body, who’d been reported missing and identified by the cops as Robert Newby, she felt his hand grip her fingers tighter as she spoke. She hadn’t had a chance to mention that newest discovery to him yet and she could almost feel him shudder next to her. That was the only point she was interrupted, Dustin solemnly adding that he had been the founder of the AV Club at Hawkins middle and high schools, a staple for the boys in their extracurricular activities. </p>
<p>And that brought her to her dinner with Barb’s family and the revelation she’d had.</p>
<p>Pausing to inhale some of her now slightly cold fries, El plunged onward.</p>
<p>“So that’s why I feel like I have to find Will. And find him. I think he’s still alive and if each of us were having these nightmares, there’s a good chance I’m connected to this. I think I’m the only one who can save him.” She was surprised at how confident she sounded.</p>
<p>Lucas’ eyebrows shot up at that and she expected him to be skeptical of the whole thing. With a dad in the military and his general demeanor, he was the one who always questioned things. Often a good trait compared to the whimsy of the others, but now she was nervous about it. </p>
<p>But instead he simply looked at the others and then back at her and responded with, “What do you need us to do?”</p>
<p>El broke out into a relieved smile as the others chimed in too, all anxious to see what they could do.</p>
<p>“Well,” she began, “I have a hunch that since I’m coming out of the dreams affected by what happens to me in there, especially the dirt and blood” <em> Dustin swallowed back a gag </em> “then I should have the ability to bring Will back with me.”</p>
<p>“And while you do that, we can make sure to wake you up if it looks like you’re struggling,” Mike chimed in.</p>
<p>“If you can get out and probably bring Will too, does that mean the monster might be able to follow you too?” Max’s question was met with slow nods as they all processed the theory.</p>
<p>Until Dustin’s face lit up with an idea.</p>
<p>“Leave that to me,” he replied excitedly with a toothy grin. </p>
<p>The ride back to their houses for the night was quick, the early fall evening beginning to settle in as they hurried to get back before nightfall. On their bikes, out amongst the town, it was impossible to really discuss the revelation that El had just dropped on them. But she could still see the wheels in their minds spinning, and she realized how much she had completely lucked out with the friends that she’d made.</p>
<p>Eventually they split, the three boys heading to the Sinclair house for the night and the two girls to El’s. With a wave, the two groups went their own way. Max didn’t bring anything up as they rode through the neighborhood, the two girls focused on debating the best Halloween movies. Around them, families began to gather themselves up for the night, preparing for the curfew. Furtive glances towards them, followed by waves once they realized it was just them. Front porch lights turning off early. El shivered in the breeze.</p>
<p>She’d be thankful once this was all over.</p>
<p>Inside, Hopper asked them his usual questions. Mainly about school, petrified that amongst all of the chaos in town they’d let their grades drop. He did the polite questions about family (he shared an equal distaste for Max’s step-family which went unspoken). His one question about Mike made Max snicker and El blush furiously until it was time for them to go sleep. </p>
<p>Since the arrangement for Max to spend most nights here, El’s room had turned into a sprawl of teenage girl supplies and sleepover items. But now that she didn’t have to hide her restlessness or dreams, El hoped Max would mind a change of pace.</p>
<p>“Would you mind sleeping with me in my bed?” she asked quickly. “Nothing’s happened yet but just in case, you’d be able to wake me up if I get in trouble in my dreams.”</p>
<p>The look of surprise on Max’s face immediately switched to sympathy and she grabbed a stack of the comic books to bring up into the bed with her. This had been their routine for a while and now Max had a better understanding of why El was so adamant about reading as many as she could. Not just to get the story, but to keep herself awake as long as possible. The two sat for a while, flipping through the different issues and comparing different villains. Eventually the day’s length began to get to them and Max’s giant yawn led them to finally settling in for the night. </p>
<p>“You know, I honestly thought you and Mike were going to tell us you guys had started dating.”</p>
<p>Max’s words startled her and she quickly looked over at her best friend. She was braiding her hair and staring pointedly at El. </p>
<p>“That’s––that’s ridiculous. You know I’m too nervous to ever think of even telling him I have a crush on him,” she protested weakly. Which was true, but after all of this maybe the words weren’t as necessary as she had thought they’d be. </p>
<p>Max rolled her eyes. “Okay, sure. But you had already told him about the dreams and lover boy looked like he’d lay his life out for you against that creature while you were talking. It would have been gross if I didn’t want you to be happy.”</p>
<p>The teasing made El blush and she wiggled her way down onto her back, looking up at the ceiling.</p>
<p>Not waiting for an answer from her, Max followed suit after leaning over and clicking the light off. Even in the dark, El could tell that she was staring at her. </p>
<p>“It’s okay to let people in.” Max’s voice was softer than El had expected it to be. </p>
<p>She frowned. “I let people in.”</p>
<p>Max’s snort was somewhat muffled by her pillow.</p>
<p>“El, it took ages for you to let me in. Even with me trying to actively be your friend. Which obviously worked out now! But still, it took you so long. I’m telling you, Mike likes you. You’re not going to lose out anything by saying something to him.”</p>
<p>El could only hum in response. </p>
<p>She felt Max shifting more to her side, the mattress dipping as she moved to sit up on one elbow.</p>
<p>“I get it too. Not trying to psychoanalyze you but I know you’re afraid if you get close to people they’ll be able to hurt you. I don’t know everything about your life before Hopper, but it makes sense. And that’s okay, but don’t let it stop you from letting more people in.” She paused, letting El process what she’d said before continuing. “That was me with Lucas for a while. I was scared that he’d just hurt me like Neil or Billy. Or maybe I’d even hurt him like that. But he hasn’t, I haven’t, and I couldn’t let myself keep projecting something he wasn’t onto him.”</p>
<p>Tears pricked at El’s eyes at the confession. She’d been there while Max had waffled on how to approach her relationship with Lucas. And it made her realize how much her own fears had been a culprit in how she’d first seen the couple. Her resistance to them dating had been about losing one of the only people in her life, rather than seeing it as a chance to expand who was in her life. And of course that had changed since that time and it was impossible to imagine her life without him in it as well. So maybe Max was right. And if she was starting to learn anything through this experience with the dreams and people dying, nothing could be taken for granted.</p>
<p>She thought about how soft Mike had been around her since she’d opened up to him. The gentle way he’d held her hand and the support he’d given her. Had those clues been there before all of this too and she just hadn’t realized it right away?</p>
<p>“Thanks Max,” she whispered, “for everything.”</p>
<p>A gentle punch to her arm was as affectionate as Max usually got and it brought a smile to El’s face.</p>
<p>“Just as long you remember there’s more to life than boys,” Max’s mischievousness returned, “I promise to not have a problem with it. Unless Wheeler breaks your heart, in which case I will immediately kick his ass.”</p>
<p>The two of them fell into silent laughter, trying to not wake up Hopper in the room over. </p>
<p>And when Max helped wake up El just before the Demogorgon slashed through her shirt, bringing her to reality faster than normal, El knew she made the right choice.</p>
<p>That realization translated to all of her friends. Teamwork was an unexpected benefit of telling her friends about it. Their support hadn’t been unusual, staunchly loyal to each other. But there was a way that they surged in support for her that almost made her heart ache with the love that they showed her. Literally starting that first night with Max, followed up by all of the boys the next day at school.</p>
<p>Max’s ability to crash at her place was already a new advantage for her. After describing it to everyone else, they all agreed that it meant El didn’t have to wake up on her own if anyone else felt her thrashing in her sleep. This gave them a safety net and a way to help if things got too intense.</p>
<p>Dustin, after having El repeat her description of the monster she’d seen, dubbed it the “Demogorgon.” A simple thing at first but something about giving it a name helped give her a focus to what she was doing. Giving a name to it gave it an identity, something easier to channel her anger towards. He also began to check out a lot of books from the library, giving her some insight into how she could handle it if worse came to worse (who knew she’d be relying on Dungeons and Dragons?), as well as a couple books that he didn’t share with her immediately as he planned. He and Mike coined the term “The Upside Down,” for where she went in her dreams as well.  </p>
<p>Mike then teamed with her in search of the lab. If Hawkins was in her dreams, down to every minute detail, then it only made sense for the lab to be as well. Their study hall period became research time as well, scouring the large computers that they begged the librarian to let them use. It took some work but they eventually found a place in old newspaper clippings, a lab that had been shut down due to experiments that had gone wrong. Public funding that had been used for tests with unethical practices. It had sat abandoned for ten years and it perfectly fit the bill.   </p>
<p>Lucas was the one, always the logical one, was the one with the most immediate action. He insisted that she actually go ahead and call about the tip for the bodies. Unexplained tips happened all of the time, she didn’t have to overthink it. He was the answer to a guilt that El hadn’t been able to shake, confirming that she had to do it. After class on Tuesday they biked to the small downtown under the claim of looking for more Halloween candy. While Lucas snuck some extra into his pockets, El nervously used the payphone they’d found to call in the tips. She’d practiced deepening her voice all day long and her nerves made her almost drop the coins multiple times as she slid them into their slot. The rehearsed lines had come out easier than expected, if only a little bit rushed. Introducing herself as Jane, a name that had come to her that morning, she talked about the pool and the lab, describing every detail that she could to try to prove her validity. </p>
<p>When the operator asked her how she came to this information, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and told them it came to her in a vision and then immediately hung up. It was the best she could do.    </p>
<p>From there it became a waiting game: the party focusing on trying to help El out, attempting to keep their grades up, and hanging onto the news with baited breath.</p>
<p>A day later, the domino effect began.</p>
<p>The first body to be found was Barb’s.</p>
<p>The town fell into a collective hush the morning it was announced, Mayor Kline speaking to everyone from their television sets. El watched as he flickered in and out of graininess, confirming that an autopsy was being performed and that her parents had positively identified the body. In the background, she looked at the couple huddled close together. It felt like a lifetime had passed since the dinner with them, and as much as she knew this was a horrible feeling, she was glad that they’d be able to have this closure. There weren’t many other details given out and El was thankful. She didn’t need anyone else to know how horrifying Barb’s death had been. They didn’t need to see how much she had been transformed in her decay.</p>
<p>The next one was Bob, a name that El could now apply to the man who she’d found, who was also simply the man from the radioshack in town. </p>
<p>El felt guilty for not having given more thought to him, wondering about who he had been. Her focus had been on figuring out where Will was, trying to master control over herself in the Upside Down. As a picture of him smiling on the TV came up the next night, detailing his history in the town, El mourned a man that seemed to have so much life in him. There was no comment as to why he had been at the lab when he normally worked in town. No one really asked.</p>
<p>There was relief in this to people; two out of three bodies were good. It felt like the town was getting somewhere, being able to advance from the clutches of paranoia. Will still hadn’t been found though, by the police or by El, leaving a lingering fear amongst the closure. Apparently his older brother had come back to town and Mike confessed that he was pretty sure his sister had spent more time over at the Byers house than her own. Will never talked about finances, but she knew things were tight in his family, and that was the only reason she could assume that one afternoon she spotted Joyce still at work in Melvald's. It felt cruel to see a grieving mother trying her best to work. The hollows under her eyes rivaled Els, making her only that much more stubborn to find her friend. She refused to let herself think of it as closure though –– something in her heart told her that he was still alive there.</p>
<p>She also had that instinct from her time in the Upside Down, feeling an uneasy energy that was different than before. The creature moved with more frantic energy, but that was even if he came after her. </p>
<p>When the bodies began to be discovered, El had been left alone for the first time since the nightmares had started. She couldn’t explain why and she was thankful for the somewhat more restful nights of sleep. Instead of being chased, most of her dreams were now her on her own prowl. And she determined that if the Demogorgon wasn’t after her, then she was going to let herself hope that it meant that Will was eluding him as well. </p>
<p>But even with the better sleep she was getting, she still woke up anxious. Something in her gut told her she was running out of time to save him. She’d been hunting all throughout the town and had covered nearly all of her bases. Under and over unsuspecting places. Corners that had been long forgotten. </p>
<p>She had one last place to explore though: the lab. </p>
<p>So when Friday rolled around, waking up next to Max with sweat beaded on her forehead from the dread that filled her, she knew that tonight was the night she had to end all of this. </p>
<p>Waiting until everyone was able to gather, she dropped into her seat at the lunch table, clutching her binder and notebook tightly to her chest. Dustin opened his mouth to say something but she shook her head.</p>
<p>“It’s time. I need to go in and get Will.”</p>
<p>Hours later, everyone coming over after school, the party set up camp at El’s house. High alert had kicked the police force into even more intensity, trying to close in on any clues to hopefully close the missing person’s case. It would have been funny in any other situation, the group of high schoolers mirroring the police force’s goal. Which meant that Hopper was out and wouldn’t know what she was about to get herself into.</p>
<p>It also helped out that he wouldn’t be there to see the chaos of the traps that they were setting up throughout the house. </p>
<p>Dustin was the primary director of the booby traps. As soon as they’d started brainstorming how she could try to rescue Will, he’d checked out a book from the library called <em> Booby Traps &amp; Improvised Anti-Personnel Devices </em>. He’d read it over and over again and when he’d pulled it out of his backpack, it was filled with sticky notes on multiple pages. He’d probably put more effort into this than their English paper that had been due last week. </p>
<p>The party moved throughout the house, plans and supplies at the ready. Multiple tripwires were laid out, starting at the base of the house and making their way up towards El’s room. Dustin rigged a few other devices around the house and then they settled into her room. All of them, minus, slurping on as much soda as they could (it was a shame none of them had gotten into coffee yet). </p>
<p>The night’s plan was as simple as they could get it:</p>
<ol>
<li>El would fall asleep as soon as possible while they others waited up</li>
<li>She would hunt Will down and try to force herself awake through the door like she normally did –– if she was visibly struggling or if they could see injuries occurring on her, they could wake her up</li>
<li>Worst case scenario: they have the traps ready if the creatures comes out</li>
<li>Will gets home and everyone is happy again</li>
</ol>
<p>Maybe it was too simple, but they were teenagers and desperate. And well, El couldn’t think of anything else. And if she could enter the Upside Down to begin with, who was to say this was impossible?</p>
<p>So they all positioned themselves in her room, everyone comfortable and ready for the evening. It was unsettling to go to sleep with such a focused plan, but with a shaky smile from each of her friends, El knew it was time. She was ready to save her friend.</p>
<p>Whether or not it was sheer will of her mind or the Upside Down knew, she opened her eyes inside the lab. She’d feared having to seek it out. Time moved strangely here and she knew it wouldn’t have taken long to get there, but she also didn’t want to waste any time.</p>
<p>Though she hadn’t explored the lab nearly as much as she had Hawkins, plus the bonus living there, El still felt confident in her search. Similar to when she’d found Barb, she found herself on a similar path. A premeditated one that was guiding her through the labyrinth.</p>
<p>Her ears twitched, listening for any sound that didn’t come from her. But the lab was a tomb. </p>
<p>She didn’t go towards the lobby, knowing she would only find death there and no answers. She passed the rooms she’d seen before, the medical equipment just as decayed as before. </p>
<p>She kept going, her feet pulling her along.</p>
<p>After a bit, here was one room that made her pause. She couldn’t place why but she placed her hand on the door all the same. Something was drawing her to it. A small window looked in and she glanced over, taking in the sight of abandoned boxes of crayons and paper. She flinched at the sight of the draws, jerking back from the door. </p>
<p>Whatever was in there, whatever secrets it had once held, she didn’t want to know. She was here on a mission and outside of the Upside Down, life was what she needed. She didn’t need whatever was waiting for her behind that door. </p>
<p>Her mind made up, she moved away from it and refocused on her search for her friend.</p>
<p>And then froze in her tracks.</p>
<p>She had the instinct to pinch herself but that felt redundant when she already knew she was dreaming. So she was left to blink rapidly, looking down the hallway at the person standing there. </p>
<p>Even in the murkiness of the Upside Down, his bright white hair shone in the muted ceiling light above him. He was too far away for her to see his expression, but she could tell he was watching her. Calculating and calm, his hands clasped in front of his body. She almost called out to him but her mouth felt like it sealed up, urging her to stay silent.</p>
<p>While she struggled with that to do next, she felt a tug in her stomach. Soft breathing echoed, almost as if behind her.</p>
<p><em> Will </em>. </p>
<p>She knew it was him, she could just tell. And her body wanted to move away from this hallway, away from the strange man just staring at her. At that thought, it was almost like she saw him smile. But that was impossible because there was no way he knew what she was thinking. So with a nervous gulp, she spun on her heel and began to run the other way.</p>
<p>Just before making it to another bend, the call towards where Will was even stronger, she stole one last look behind her.</p>
<p>The man was gone.</p>
<p>She felt ill at the lack of knowledge she had about him. But maybe amongst all of this, he was a figment of her imagination. So she carried on, vowing to herself to forget that part of this experience.</p>
<p>She went deeper into the lab. She didn’t want to waste all of her energy but she was moving at a clipped pace, just shy of jogging. Her Converse squeaked against the floor, the only other sound in the hallway other than her labored breathing. There was no monster in sight yet.</p>
<p>It was outside a random door when her body was flung to almost a stop. Her instincts told her to go into here and at first she wanted to cry out in despair. All of the doors had been locked, why this one?</p>
<p>And then her eyes slid to the left and she registered the shattered window beside it. A gaping, shattered hole that gave her the perfect into the room. Kicking aside the shards of glass on the floor, El scrambled to climb through it. She emptied out into what looked like an observation room, machines silent and their knobs dark. Through the viewing window, it was pitch black and she couldn’t see anything. But that wasn’t what she was looking through. There was a similar break in the glass, with dried bits of slime coating the edges. If she had to wager a guess, whatever was in that room was where the Demogorgon had first come from. </p>
<p>That wasn’t what she came in here for though. Her feet moved on their own, walking her over towards the set up of TVs shoved in the corner. Next to them was a machine with a large glass circle on it. She had no idea what it was used for, but it was on wheels and she jerked it aside. By removing it, she allowed for a cast of faded light to enter into the corner of the room.</p>
<p>Curled up in a ball, in clothes she vaguely remembered seeing him in a couple weeks ago, was Will Byers.</p>
<p>She let out a shout of relief, kneeling down to place her hand on his arm. Giving him a shake, she prayed that he was still alive.</p>
<p>At first there was nothing and she felt her mind begin to spiral.</p>
<p>But then one puff of air escaped his lips... </p>
<p>...and then another.</p>
<p>Will’s face was gaunt as he looked up at her. Blinking rapidly, his jaw moved as if he was trying to talk but couldn’t find the words. She didn’t blame him –– there was no way he’d have ever thought to imagine she’d show up to save him.</p>
<p>“Are––” he finally rasped out “––are you real?”</p>
<p>“I’m really here,” she replied, finding herself whispering to match his low tones. “I’m going to get you out of here.”</p>
<p>He nodded slowly. </p>
<p>There was luckily a lock on the inside of the room, dirt and grime catching on El’s fingers as she twisted it open and they pitched themselves out into the hallway.</p>
<p>The air around them was beginning to feel heavy, like it knew that she was trying to pull him out of it. Trying to drag them down and prevent them from getting outside. In her head, El had imagined that they’d be able to run, sprinting out of the dreamscape back to the door that always acted as the portal for her from dream to reality. But she hadn’t thought of Will’s exhaustion from being trapped here for so long. He was gaunt and his skin tinged green, or maybe it was just her eyes still adjusting to the upside down. </p>
<p>They haphazardly ran, El thankful for the growth spurt he’d had in the middle of junior year. It put him at a height much closer to hers and it was easier for her to sling her arm underneath his arms and around his back, helping support some of his weight as they hurried.</p>
<p>Just as all of her other dreams that had taken place in the lab, El knew to look for that one specific elevator door. One day she’d try to understand how the Upside Down worked and what it was that helped guide her through it, but for now Will’s safety was her number one priority. They hustled as quickly as possible and it was when they slid around a corner, almost halfway there, when they heard the bellow. </p>
<p>The sound of its claws scraping and digging into the tile floor, making its way towards them, beneath them sent shivers down her spine, but all El could do was tighten her hold on Will and urge him to keep going.</p>
<p>“It’s okay if you need to leave me,” he wheezed out. </p>
<p>“Like hell I will,” she snapped back, gulping in oxygen as they pushed forward. “Friends don’t leave friends behind. I’m here to <em> save </em> you.”</p>
<p>He gave her a weak smile in return, and then behind him the wall cracked and splintered as the Demogorgon roared into view behind them. </p>
<p>The two of them took off.</p>
<p>El could feel the strain in Will’s body, jostling against hers, as they sprinted forward. She’d have to tell him later how proud she was of him as he fought to use a strength neither of them were quite sure he had. But he persisted anyway and they managed to keep some distance between them and the monster.</p>
<p>The blood pounding in El’s head was brutal and her breath was ragged. Beside her, Will wheezed in and out. </p>
<p>They rounded another corner and entered into a long stretch of a hallway. Lights above them flickered in and out with each roar of the Demogorgon, the walls seemingly closing in on them. But up ahead, El could see the elevator doors. They were almost there.</p>
<p>One foot in the front of the other.</p>
<p>Exerting every last ounce of energy.</p>
<p>Her palms were sweaty from running but she had an iron-like grip on Will so he didn’t slip away from her.</p>
<p>The hair on her arms stood as the Demogorgon bellowed behind them.</p>
<p>It was closer to them now.</p>
<p>She could almost feel it breathing on them. A hot, rancid breath that made her body want to curl up on itself. They just had to push a bit more, the elevator just ahead of them now. </p>
<p>
  <em> If she could just reach a little further… </em>
</p>
<p>Her hand slammed into the elevator door button and it miraculously opened immediately. </p>
<p>She felt Will finally slump against her and she nearly dragged him in with her and the doors shut, plunging the two of them into darkness. She felt hands on her shoulders, shaking her and shaking her and shaking her and then––</p>
<p>She was back in the room.</p>
<p>Thrust back into reality with a gasp, El gulped in air as she processed that she’d woken back up. In a panic, she looked wildly around her and nearly sobbed in relief at what she saw.</p>
<p>Max was next to her, urging her to drink water while Mike was helping Will get to his feet. Will, who she’d actually managed to pull out of the Upside Down with her. She couldn’t believe their half-baked plan had worked, that somehow a bunch of teenagers had figured out how this bizarre dreamland worked. A broken laugh bubbled up in her and she got shocked smiles in return, the party equally as stunned as her at their success.</p>
<p>Her momentary relief was interrupted though by the arrival of something else from her dream that had been pulled back into reality. </p>
<p>The expression of terror on Max’s face premeditated El’s own by seconds as she realized that something was horribly wrong. </p>
<p>There was a stretching sound, ripping and tearing from above her. El’s head dropped back and all she could manage was a squeak of terror at the sight of the Demogorgon clawing its way out of her ceiling. Its arm burst out first, slime and remnants of the Upside Down slipping off of him and dropping onto the bed. The party scrambled as quickly as possible. Panic gripping each of them, they stumbled up and out. Each making sure to get over the tripwire that had been set up, rushing out as quickly as they could before the Demogorgon’s entire body broke through the wall. </p>
<p>The first trap they had was just an initial tripwire. El heard the noise behind her of the Demogorgon crashing through her room and seemingly missing the wire as it stumbled into the hallway. She was pretty sure she could hear the side paneling of her door ripping off of the wall.</p>
<p>Its long legs worked to its advantage though and she could hear it crashing down the stairs just behind them.</p>
<p>One more tripwire to launch over and she barely made it before the creature flung itself down the final steps behind her. It had barely learned its lesson, its leg hitting the wire –– sending the sledgehammer that Dustin had rigged to swing down to come down and smack it in the chest.</p>
<p>It let out a roar at that, spittle almost reaching El. The others ahead visibly shuddered, helping hoist a startled Will back up to his feet. Max’s face was pale.</p>
<p>“Want me to chuck my skateboard at it?” She shouted as El started to catch up to them. It was an earnest question, but she shook her head. There was no way to get to the board in time and as much as they needed a head start, there was no way that the board would be enough. Even the sledgehammer hadn’t been enough; El could hear it advancing behind them.</p>
<p>What she hadn’t realized though was how close it was to them.</p>
<p>The party raced through the living room towards the kitchen, there was a side door in the kitchen they’d be able to use. </p>
<p>But El wasn’t quite fast enough, having used up so much energy rescuing Will.  </p>
<p>Its claw snagged her foot and El shrieked as she dropped to the ground. Shooting pain screamed through her body and she bit back the tears that threatened to spill out. With a thrust, she kicked the creature off of her. It seemed to fall back, stunned by her burst of energy, and it gave her just enough time to scramble to her feet. Muttering swear words, she chased after her friends as they all scrambled through the house.</p>
<p>But as she watched them hurry ahead of her, a new plan began to form in her mind. </p>
<p>Her ankle throbbing, El did everything she could to distract the Demogorgon as the rest of the party struggled to get ahead. Will was still barely conscious, his eyelids fluttering as Lucas and Dustin hoisted him up into a better position as they hurried into the kitchen. Max and Mike looked back at El, the fear in their eyes equal as they realized that she had hung back. </p>
<p>“EL!” Max shouted just as Mike echoed her with, “HURRY!”</p>
<p>She shook her head adamantly at them, not bothering to say anything before turning back and looking at the monster. </p>
<p>There was a wake of destruction behind it and now there was a moment to almost catch her breath, it was disorienting to see it moving throughout her home. It had always been huge in her dreams, but now that she wasn’t actively running away she was startled by its true hulking size in contrast to real life. It was bent over at the shoulders, the top petals of muscle and teeth surrounding its head nearly touching the ceiling. </p>
<p>Almost like it was sniffing the air, the monster’s head bobbed up and down as its spine contorted to lean forward. </p>
<p>Once it seemed to detect her, it leaned back and let out a roar. Spittle and slime shot out of its mouth and it arched upwards, every corded muscle in its body preparing to lunge forward like a lion to its prey.</p>
<p>Rage fueled her, keeping her feet cemented to the floor. She was the only thing between this creature and her friends, the people of her neighborhood, and hell even Hawkins. She wasn’t going to let it hurt anyone else. And then with an instinct she didn’t know she had, El knew what she had to do. </p>
<p>Picturing her friends, hopefully all in safe distance away, El began to scream. </p>
<p>She saw Barb’s face as she’d looked when she’d discovered her. She thought of the man she’d only heard of, who had been so gentle that everyone’s memory of him was spoken with reverence. She pictured Will on the brink of death before being pulled out. She thought of Max, stubborn and bright-eyed despite what she had gone through. Mike, who’s dark brown eyes looked at her so softly and had believed her from day one. Lucas and his determination, honesty, and fierce loyalty. Dustin’s jovialness and creativity that saw no bounds.</p>
<p>With each flash of her friends, a long thought for Hopper who had saved her and given her a new life, her scream grew louder. She screamed for the people who she refused to let die at the hands of this creature.</p>
<p>Her fingers tightened, the tension in them curling her hands into fists. Her eyes narrowing, she could feel the blood pounding in her head and her veins felt on fire. </p>
<p>A part of her brain recognized that her nose was bleeding, feeling the cool drip of it connecting her nose to her mouth as the metallic flavor pooled into her mouth.</p>
<p>She screamed and screamed, watching the monster in front of her be thrown back and flung up against the wall.</p>
<p>Picture frames shattered and fell to the ground, the wood behind it splintering with a ricochet of loud cracking. </p>
<p>El had no idea what was possessing her. </p>
<p>This all felt impossible, but so had been the nightmares and so was the creature she was pinning now. Her brain couldn’t wrap around what was going on if she even tried. But now wasn’t the moment to second guess what was going on. She just let the fear and paranoia that had taken over the town be released through her.</p>
<p>Just when it felt like her voice was going to give out, her body barely able to stand without the adrenaline coursing through her, it all stopped.</p>
<p>The Demogorgon exploded in front of her.</p>
<p>In a shower of what could only morbidly be described as confetti, El watched in horror as the creature disintegrated into the air around them. The pieces of it reminded her of the flecks in the Upside Down and there was a brief moment where she wasn’t sure if she was awake or if she’d fallen back asleep. A dream within a dream. But she could genuinely feel the blood dripping down her face from her nose and the wooziness that she was experiencing was all too real. </p>
<p>She could vaguely hear her friends behind her, shouts of concern. In the distance somewhere, sirens began to approach. She idly wondered whether or not someone had heard the chaos. They must have and then called the police about the disturbance. Their closest neighbor was a bit further from their house compared to most suburbs so they must have been loud.</p>
<p>It was that last thought that crossed her made as her vision went in and out of focus. Her body was beginning to feel the toll of what they’d gone through tonight. Warm hands were on her arms –– Mike? –– as she slid down towards the ground in exhaustion, just as Hopper threw the door open and stormed in, followed by multiple other cops.</p>
<p>“Hi,” she whispered weakly, and then promptly fainted.   </p>
<p>XXX </p>
<p>Sunday, the day before Halloween, dawned brightly. The sky was a pale blue, the edges tinged with a hazy white as the morning sun burned away the night’s fog. The air was cold, a distraction from the warmth of the sun that seemed to wake up the sleepy town. It was the type of chill in the air that tingled against your skin and a frost lined the edges of the leaves underfoot.</p>
<p>Overnight, Hawkins had emerged from a dreary, darkly cloaked time into its normal autumnal season. It was like the town itself could sense that it had been saved.</p>
<p>After what she’d experienced in the Upside Down, everything around them felt like it moved at a slower pace. When she’d awoken from her fainting spell (she’d luckily only been out for a few moments), she’d been surrounded by a ton of different people. Distantly she could hear Officer Powell telling reporters to go and it wasn’t until she saw paramedics talking with a very-alive Will that she focused her energy back on her dad.</p>
<p>The destruction of the house, mixed with the past reported injuries from the other victims, made it an easy lie that it was some type of mutated animal that had caused this. Will and her had simply taken one look at each other and seamlessly told the lie, without having to exchange a single word with each other. And maybe it was because it was easier to accept that it was just an animal that did this, but it seemed to line up with everything well enough that it put people at ease. The morbidness of the deaths. The claw marks in the house. And no one wanted to question the young teenage boy who was able to give his own report of what had happened to him. The whole party knew they wouldn’t be able to explain the Upside Down to the adults. It was better this way, to simplify the experience to just a rabid animal.</p>
<p>Over at the Starcourt Mall, life was almost as normal as it could be afterwards. The morning news spread like wildfire and soon attention had shifted to figure out what had created the rabid-like, diseased creature. Angles of government testing or radiation infections were the two main conspiracies that were being whispered about, and even spoken loudly on the news as reporters found new threads to follow. </p>
<p>All of the theories made El smile, finding humor in the situation in an attempt to not overthink what had happened. It was funny to think that people thought they were coming up with wild ideas –– especially when all of them failed to compare to the truth. That was what had been entertaining the party so far as they hung out at a couple benches on the second floor of the mall. They’d passed a group of dads arguing about the effects this could have on future hunting trips and each of the teens looked at each before busting up into laughter. Which then of course led to them recounting the actual facts with each other, a first since everyone’s parents had come to get them the night before. </p>
<p>“I still can’t believe that worked,” gushed Dustin, his eyes wide as he shook his curls back and forth.</p>
<p>“Yeah you should have seen Hopper’s face when he finally got the door open,” Lucas responded with a laugh. “He was so stunned to see all of us there.”</p>
<p>Mike turned to El, his hand briefly reaching out to touch hers to get her attention. </p>
<p>“How long are you grounded for?” He asked with a wry grin. </p>
<p>El let out a light laugh. “For a week. Though I guess it’s pretty lax since he let me come here. And he’s going to let me hang out for Halloween, so I suppose it’ll kick in after that. My allowance is going to have to go fixing up the place too,” she added with a small guilty shrug.</p>
<p>She also hadn’t figured out how to explain what had happened once everyone had gotten out to safety. And as much as it had been nice to hear Mike’s superpower theories from the other week, she wasn’t quite ready to process all of that yet.</p>
<p>He chuckled, but before he could say anything else, Max quickly ran up to the group from down the hallway. </p>
<p>“What’s up losers!” She shouted, slightly out of breath and ignoring the disgruntled looks from the grandmothers with their grandchildren. “What the hell are you waiting for? Let’s go!”</p>
<p>Paying no mind to the fact that she was the late one, the redhead impatiently waited with her skateboard as the rest of them pushed off of the railing to follow her towards the record store. There was some new album coming out today, some local California rock band that El didn’t recognize, and Max was confident she’d be able to find it here. No one knew if she was right, but it was the perfect way to kill time before dressing up tonight. Trick or treating was up in the air this year. With Halloween being on a Sunday this year, plus the trauma that the town had gone through the past month, it wasn’t looking very likely. The party all agreed that they were too old for it anyway and the Wheeler basement was tonight’s destination for candy and movies. </p>
<p>El trailed behind the others, watching them with a small smile. She actually felt rested today, for the first time in weeks. </p>
<p>This all felt so normal that it was almost disorienting to process, but she was so thankful for it to all be over she didn’t even want to question it. Tonight, Will would be able to join them (Joyce had insisted on him resting during the day –– hardly something to argue about). Last night, El’s sleep had been dreamless and she had a feeling tonight’s would be as well. </p>
<p>Stepping to dodge a piece of gum on the tile floor beneath her, El’s steps stuttered for a brief moment.</p>
<p>And that was when she felt it.</p>
<p>She froze as a crawling feeling began to creep up her neck. As well as the intense sensation that she was being watched, akin to how she’d felt in all of her nightmares.</p>
<p>Head jerking up, she looked frantically around her. </p>
<p>At first she could have sworn she saw the familiar flakes of the Upside Down around her, but as her eyes adjusted she recognized it as just faint pieces of dust floating around. The mall was still bright and cheery, and up ahead she could hear Max and Mike arguing about music. Everything was completely fine.</p>
<p>Her breathing slowly returned to a normal pace as she felt the sensation slowly dissipate. </p>
<p><em> I’m okay </em> , she recited to herself, <em> I’m totally and completely okay. Everything is safe </em>. </p>
<p>Hurrying to catch up with her friends, El did her best to shake the moment off. It was nothing. They’d pulled the monster out and she’d killed it with whatever strange abilities it seemed she might have. There was no reason to be scared anymore.</p>
<p>As she slipped into the store, her eyes glued ahead at her friends, she missed the odd shadow movement behind her that slowly disappeared the further away she got.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for checking this fic out! I had a lot of fun playing with the themes of both the movie and the show and fitting them together. There are definitely some small easter eggs towards El's background in this that I had fun putting in! If you'd missed it, you can find <a href="https://she-who-the-river-could-not-hold.tumblr.com/post/630439495656964097/a-nightmare-on-maple-street-a-stranger-things-x">the moodboard</a> on my Tumblr! </p>
<p>Here's to the countdown to season 4!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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